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GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491
Posted:
Like most Condo Associations our declarations ban homeowners from putting items on the common elements without Board approval. And like most Associations around the holidays, decorations start creeping onto the common elements including building hallways. This year instead of being Scrooge and forcing people to remove things, I got my fellow Board members to declare amnesty from Nov.15 to Jan 15 and asked homeowners to compete for building bragging rights. Does anyone else do this? How has it worked for your Association? Or do you stick to the letter of the declarations an ban everything? Remember our CC&R's allow the BOD some latitude. These are the rules I came up with:

Show your community spirit and help celebrate the end of another great year here at Aspen Glen. Help make your building more inviting to come home to. The Board is waiving the prohibition of placing items on the common elements without prior approval from November 15, 2006 until January 15, 2007. Get together with your neighbors and come up with a theme for your building or do your own thing. There is no prize for this; we simply want to give the community a chance come together and shine.

The Rules are simple:
1. Nothing is to be placed on the roofs or gutters.

2. Do not screw or nail things onto the buildings or permanently damage the building in order to attach decorations.

3. If the decoration requires power it must be U. L. approved for outdoor use and the cords must not pose a tripping or fire hazard.

4. First come first served. If you have a great idea to decorate the bushes outside the front door but someone in your building beats you to it, you can't tear down their decorations to put yours up.

5. Anything deemed by the Board as offensive to the community at large will be removed.

Remember:
We all have our own unique beliefs and this is not intended to promote one belief over another. Also whatever decorations you use; when this is over you will have to store them. So while that twelve foot inflatable Santa and snowman or the life-sized Nativity might look great; it could be a problem to find a place to keep them until next year.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions
PaulH3 (Connecticut)
Posts: 29
Posted:

You mention that your documents “allow the BoD some latitude”. I would have to question how much latitude and have you overstepped your bounds.

As a member that agreed to the rules and regulations of my HOA before I purchased, I would be requesting the removal of excessive displays since they are banned in the first place. How would your Board react if only one unit owner complained?

Another point, what exposure are you creating for the HOA? What happens if someone trips over one of these decorations and injures themselves? Since they were allowed, and from your note, encouraged by the Board I would say that you have definitely created some exposure.

Last, from your rules, you have established the Board as the arbiter of taste in determining what is offensive.

Take this from my position of not knowing the entirety of your CC&Rs and not knowing your community. But, I think this is a bad idea.
LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526
Posted:
I think your BOD'S Attitude is in the right place...Kudos to you for promoting a healthy attitude for a Joyous Holiday Season....With the state of affairs that our world is in today maybe if we all just took some time to look for the POSITIVE in something instead of the NEGATIVE what a wonderful world this would be......I just can't phantom anyone putting up anything that your BOD would deem offensive but I believe you did the right thing by your subtle hint and giving them fair notice...I for you would like to see pictures posted to our forum if you would like to share them with us..and to all a good night................Happy Holidays...Linda C
CharlesW1 (Georgia)
Posts: 826
Posted:
GlenL,

I would have to agree with what PaulH3 has stated. As good as it may feel to you and the other board members, I just feel is would be a bad idea as well. You may have to deal with additional liability and then this board will have to enforce these guidelines you have purposed to the tenants, on January 15th. Apparently you have already initiated this in your asspcoation. If you would please keep us informed. I’m sure many who have read your post would be interested to see how well it works for you.

Best of luck
Chuck W.

Charles E. Wafer Jr.
DJ1 (Ontario)
Posts: 798
Posted:
At this time of year you always seem to read about political correctness with regards to 'Christmas' language, decorations etc.

I'm sure at some point by having an amnesty, someone will eventually claim discrimination in that you are allowing this for xmas but not other religous holidays. It would be unfortunate but be prepared!!!
JanM (Texas)
Posts: 142
Posted:
We have a Christmas decor contest in our community. We have best secular, best religeous, and most creative along with honorable mentions for each category. The winners get a sign in their yard and their picture in the community paper. Its a lot of fun and it is great to see so many decorations/lights in our neighborhood. We don't have to drive all over town to see great displays cuz they are all here!
PatrickH (California)
Posts: 204
Posted:
Hi Glen,

I think your best choice would be to "turn a blind eye" to the decorations and let people do their own decorating. Don't make it some officially approved idea, you could open the HOA to liability if someone trips, slips, falls or a fire started due to the decorations.

I live in an HOA that is town houses, so technically, the exterior of the units and all the bushes and tress in front of the units belong to the HOA. Our rules state that the owners can't put anything on the exteriors or in the front common areas of their units.

When December rolled around, we just didn't enforce that rule for a month. In my six years on the Board, no one ever filed a complaint about another person's decorations, so we were never forced to enforce the rule. If they had, we probably wouldn't have done anything until January, since December is the one month we didn't have a Board meeting, because it always fell around Christmas.

It's worked well for us by not officially sanctioning any common area decorating, but just letting it go by for a month.
HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906
Posted:
PatrickH's idea to turn a blind eye to Christmas decorations is good. I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the brouhaha created by an HOA board president in Pagosa Springs, CO over a Holiday wreath with a peace sign. It certainly created national and maybe even international attention toward HOAs. The president fired the five member ARC for disagreeing with him, and eventually ended up with the president and the other two board members unwilling to take the heat and resigning, leaving the five ARC members scrambling to put together a new board. All because of a Holiday wreath. Harold

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